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DWU softball picked 11th in preseason poll

January 26, 2012

Nicole Haley

MITCHELL, S.D. – The Dakota Wesleyan University softball team was picked to finish 11thin the Great Plains Athletic Conference preseason coaches’ poll, which was released Thursday morning by the league.

Last season, the Tigers went 12-23 overall and 7-13 and finished 11th in the conference. Morningside College, which won the regular-season and tournament titles, received 100 points and 10 first-place votes and was picked to finish first. Nebraska Wesleyan University was picked second and received the final first-place vote and Concordia University was selected third. Midland University, which made the trip to the NAIA National Tournament along with Morningside last season, was picked sixth.

This season, under first-year head coach Ed Kieff, Dakota Wesleyan is hoping to improve on its 2011 finish. The Tigers didn’t lose a single player to graduation, and brought in some talented new recruits to go along with the core of experienced veterans.

Senior shortstop Nicole Haley returns as the team’s leading hitter. She hit .413 last season with 50 hits – including a team-high nine doubles – and 15 RBIs. Haley, along with pitcher Brandi Nekrassoff, earned All-GPAC second-team honors as juniors in 2011. Nekrassoff hit .364 with 15 RBIs and also recorded 51 strikeouts and 63 innings pitched. She went 3-6 in 20 appearances.

Roni Nekrassoff returns for her junior season after recorded 36 strikeouts in 69 innings pitched last season. She also hit .331 and had a fielding percentage of .945. Also back is senior Kelsie Fahr, who hit a team-high five home runs and had 20 RBIs.

Five new freshmen join the DWU roster in 2012 along with one sophomore. All six players are versatile players who will add depth to the Tigers roster and help them improve on their finish from 2011.

Dakota Wesleyan is scheduled to start its season Friday, Feb. 3, with a nonconference doubleheader at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, S.D. The Tigers’ first home game and GPAC game is slated for March 24 against Hastings College.

2012 GPAC Softball Preseason Poll

  1. Morningside, 100 (10 first-place votes)
  2. Nebraska Wesleyan, 85 (1 first-place vote)
  3. Concordia, 76
  4. Doane, 67
  5. Dordt, 66
  6. Midland, 53
  7. Northwestern, 50
  8. Hastings, 47
  9. Mount Marty, 26
  10. Briar Cliff, 19
  11. 11.    Dakota Wesleyan, 16

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